Originally Posted by
Mr. Smith
I suppose I transposed my words... The weight of the bike being lighter would make for easier carrying since Dahon offers no means to roll it along folded. The lightest Dahons are stripped so I was indicating I'd buy something like the Mu SL and add fenders to it.
I was thinking I might plan a weekender up to Eugene or I suppose California is closer. LA is a hop skip and a jump away and probably has folding bike retailers.
Looks can be deceiving. In my opinion Dahons are easier to roll along folded than the tikit is. The difference is that Bike Friday has chosen to highlight the rolling ability in their advertisements while Dahon has chosen not to. I recently test rode both a Mu SL and a tikit and I found the Mu SL to be much easier to roll while folded (not to mention much lighter to lift and much better to ride).
Given your uneasiness about tracking down a Birdy, your concern about 355mm ("18 inch") wheels, and your insistence on something smaller than a Xootr, I think your best bet is a Dahon.
FYI, Dahon is one of the few designs which doesn't tend to lose the chain when folded. Birdy, Bike Friday tikit, etc all have a tendency to lose their chains. However, if you're extremely concerned about durability then a Birdy would probably be better than a Dahon. Not that Dahon is bad, but some people have complained about the hinges developing a little give over time.
In any case, I think you should choose between Dahon and Birdy. Lastly, here are a few quick facts to help you make your decision:
-I doubt you'll have more trouble ordering a Birdy than you would a Bike Friday. I hear that some Birdy dealers are excellent to deal with and Bike Friday doesn't have a particularly efficient ordering process.
-"18 inch wheels" and "16 inch wheels" are names, not measurements. In reality the Birdy wheels are only 1/4th of an inch larger than the tikit wheels. Although tubes and tires probably aren't interchangeable, if you have trouble getting replacement tubes you can always replace the "18 inch" Birdy wheels with "16 inch" tikit wheels. Of course, wheelsets aren't cheap, but the point is that you wouldn't be locked in.
-Forum member "pm124" has owned both a Birdy and a Mu SL. Search for his posts or ask him to participate in this discussion.